Classic Chevrolet C10 Paint Colors & Factory Codes (1960–1972)
Every original factory paint color offered on the classic Chevrolet C10 (1960–1972), with official manufacturer paint codes, hex approximations, and rarity notes. Use the paint code to order a color-matched sample from a restoration supplier.
Chevrolet's C10 half-ton was offered in two visually distinct eras, and the factory color palette tracked that styling split. The 1960–1966 first generation launched with flowing, jet-age sheetmetal and a colorful catalog of names like Cardinal Red, Tampico Turquoise, Yukon Yellow and Galway Green, carried on three-digit GM truck codes in the 700 series early on before settling into 500-series numbering by the mid-1960s. These were work trucks first, so single-tone whites, grays and fleet reds dominated, but Chevrolet leaned on cheerful turquoises and greens to brighten the showroom floor.
The 1967–1972 "Action Line" trucks adopted crisper, squarer styling and a tidier palette built around named-by-shade colors such as Light Green 503, Dark Blue 508, Red 514 and White 521. Two-tone schemes were especially common on these pickups - a contrasting roof and upper band over a body color, far more varied than on passenger cars - which makes verifying the original code on the cowl tag essential. Because GM recycled the same two- and three-digit truck codes from year to year, a single code can mean different colors depending on the build year.
Sources:
paintref.com (GM Chevy Truck factory paint code cross-reference, 1960-1972)
cjponyparts.com
🔧 Restoration Tips: Finding & Matching Your Original Color
- • Find the original color on the cowl/firewall data plate: on 1960-66 trucks the body tag is riveted to the firewall or cowl, and on 1967-72 Action Line trucks it sits on the upper driver-side cowl or door-hinge pillar; the paint line lists the factory code (for example 514 Red or 521 White).
- • When restoring a factory two-tone, mask carefully along the original break lines and spray the lower body color first, then the roof and upper accent color; trucks used far more two-tone combinations than passenger cars, so photograph the body tag and any surviving paint edge before stripping.
- • Match the code to the exact year, never the name: GM reused truck color codes from year to year (code 511 was Dark Aqua in 1967, Turquoise in 1969 and Ochre in 1972), so always confirm the code against the build year before mixing paint.
- • Look for surviving original paint in protected areas - under the bed wood, behind kick panels, inside door jambs, under the cowl vent and beneath the glovebox - to verify the true factory shade before color-sanding or respraying.